


Bravery

by thegreatgayjatsby



Category: 18th Century CE RPF, Hamilton - Miranda
Genre: Concealed Carrying, Domesticity, Established Relationship, Hostage Situations, Hurt/Comfort, Law Office AU, Lee and Burr are the focus of this fic, Loosely inspired by The Kill Point, M/M, Modern AU, Most of the characters listed only make brief appearances
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-08
Updated: 2016-12-08
Packaged: 2018-09-07 06:19:21
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,785
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8786854
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thegreatgayjatsby/pseuds/thegreatgayjatsby
Summary: Aaron Burr prefers his days to be calm. He doesn't appreciate it when his boyfriend, Charles Lee, gets himself involved in a hostage situation and plays the hero.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Ok prepare to have ur feelings hurt bc charles lee is a dumbass :^)

The day had started typically, as so many others had in the past.

Aaron awoke to the sensation of Charles’ lips travelling in a sleepy path over his shoulder and up his neck, until the shorter of them was nuzzling against his ear and murmuring a good morning. Lee had one arm draped over Aaron’s waist, their legs entangled, and Aaron couldn’t help but smile as he turned to capture Charles’ lips in a sweet little kiss.

Charles withdrew after a few moments, extricating himself from Burr’s embrace and stretching luxuriously. Aaron watched through half-lidded eyes as Lee slipped from bed and went to rummage through the top drawer of Aaron’s dresser—the one he had claimed for himself—for clothes. The thought made Aaron’s drowsy mind wake a little at the sheer pleasure the thought that Charles was moving in with him brought. And it was true—slowly but surely, Charles was bringing more and more things to Aaron’s apartment and not taking them back to his own. Burr turned and pressed his face to the pillow, smelling Lee’s perfume, and listened to the sound of him getting ready.

Their work schedules were similar, but Charles often got up to go to work sooner than Aaron did. Washington was pretty lax on when his lawyers showed up at the office, but Lee’s boss, one Mr. George William Frederick, was a little stricter regarding clock-in times. They worked at rival law offices. They had met when Lee was still working for Washington, but after he’d lost a particularly influential client and Washington had fired him, Charles had gone to work for the British-run practice across town.

It was a little unconventional, the office romance they had fostered, but Aaron was more than happy. Charles was a doting boyfriend, and the two balanced their work and personal lives well. No one at the Washington law office knew of their relationship, and for good reason. Burr knew that the news would not be taken kindly, especially not from his partner, Hamilton. On the other hand, he was fairly certain most of Charles’ coworkers knew, including Howe, Frederick’s right hand man. Burr also knew, however, that Frederick was head-over-heels for one of the local bishops, in fact, Burr’s church’s bishop, so, he figured the Englishman would let it slide.

Charles returned to bed briefly to settle his weight overtop of Aaron and kiss him fully awake. Burr tangled a hand in Charles’ short, cropped hair, grinning into the kiss, and shuddered when Charles ran his hands down his sides.

“You’re gonna be late,” He murmured, as the lithe man above him turned his face into his neck and began to lay kisses there.

Charles hummed softly, noncommittal, and drew away after a long moment. He looked at Aaron like Aaron was his sun and moon both, and it made Burr’s heart do a little flip. Aaron gently nudged him, sitting up himself, and smiled gently in return. “Go.” He implored, kissing Charles on the cheek.

Lee stood and smoothed his jacket down, then glanced in the mirror above the dresser and fixed his hair with his fingers. “Let’s have takeout for dinner tonight.” He said at his reflection before gathering his messenger bag up off the floor from where he’d dumped it the night previous. “I wanna stay in.”

“Chinese food?” Aaron suggested as he stood, toeing into his slippers and heading out into the kitchen in Lee’s wake.

“Whatever you want.” Lee answered, pouring himself a thermos full of coffee and adding too much cream and sugar for Aaron’s taste.

“Chinese it is.” Aaron accepted the mug Charles had poured him, then caught the man around the waist and kissed him again. “I love you. Have a good day.”

“I love you too!” Charles grinned, pecked his cheek, and slid from Aaron’s grasp.

When the apartment door swung shut behind him, Aaron lounged back against the counter for a moment and sipped his coffee. Mr. Spada, Lee’s pomeranian, trotted into the kitchen from their bedroom. Aaron set his coffee down to pour some kibble into Spada’s bowl, then scratched him behind the ears. Ensuring the dog had water and had gone out to do his business, Aaron got dressed and ready.

Charles really had started moving in. His mugs were in the cabinets, his movies on the shelf. His clothes were lying in haphazard piles in Burr’s walk-in closet. He had a succulent in the windowsill in the living room. His toothbrush was on the counter, and he had some makeup in a case in the bathroom. He had a whole drawer in Aaron’s dresser to himself.

Aaron headed out to work with a spring in his step, going over the different Chinese takeout places around the city in his mind and debating the pros and cons of each with himself. The case he and Hamilton were working on today was some simple repeated traffic violation, nothing too intense. Burr settled at his desk and turned his desktop on.

Hamilton made a noise that vaguely sounded like good morning, and Aaron returned the sentiment, delving into his work. Everything was going just fine. At lunchtime, he checked his phone. It was almost noon when he got the text from Charles.

[from Charlie:] Hey if you see the news don’t be worried :-)

               Aaron’s first reaction, of course, was to stand and hurry to the break room in order to flick the TV on. He had always been particularly adept at sensing when something was wrong. When he switched to the local news channel, his stomach rose into his throat. The shot on the screen was an aerial view of Frederick’s law office, surrounded by both a barricade and police cars. A SWAT team was just pulling up. Aaron’s fingers shook as he texted back.

[to Charlie:] Whats happening r u ok?

               His eyes glued to the TV, and he tried not to panic as he listened to the newscaster. “…has developed into a hostage situation, the culprits taking shelter in the law office next door to the bank.”

Vaguely, he registered the fact that Hamilton was at his side, saying, “Holy fucking shit.” 

Aaron nearly dropped his phone when it buzzed.

[from Charlie:] everybodys fine were just all in the back

[from Charlie:] i conceal carried today

               Aaron’s brief hope that his militant boyfriend had refrained from the habit today plummeted.

[to Charlie:] don’t you FUCKING dare

[to Charlie:] listen to me

[to Charlie:] do NOT play the hero

               “Who are you texting?” Alexander’s voice cut through the rising panic in Aaron’s mind, and when he looked up, he discovered both Hamilton and Laurens to be standing before him

               He opened his mouth to blather some excuse, then frankly said, “Charles Lee.”

Alexander blinked, making a little bit of a distasteful expression. “Yeah, he works there now, doesn’t he?”

“Yes.” Aaron’s knuckles were going white around his phone, and when it buzzed, it made him jump a little.

[from Charlie:] ill do what i have to

[from Charlie:] I love you, Aaron

[to Charlie:] don’t say that im gonna see you tonight please don’t do anything

[from Charlie:] I love you.

[to Charlie:] don’t say that youre gonna say it to me later in person okay

               When the phone stayed silent for more than a minute, Aaron shouldered past Hamilton and Laurens to grab his coat. He shrugged into the coat, then grabbed his keys and wallet, heading for the door. Washington stood, cutting an imposing figure, by the front desk.

“Mr. Burr,” he began, and Aaron swallowed tightly.

“I have to go—”

“Be safe.” Washington looked entirely too knowing for Burr’s comfort, but he nodded curtly and passed by the man. He had no time to make himself anxious over whether or not Washington knew about he and Charles. It didn’t matter.

Aaron broke the speed limit as he rushed across the city to Lee’s workplace. The last time he’d been there was to pick Charles up to go out to lunch when their breaks coincided one day a week or so ago. He parked a block or so away and hurried to the police barrier, approaching an officer.

“Sir, you have to stay back.” The cop said gently, holding one hand out.

“Do you know what they want? When they’re gonna get out of there?” Aaron’s voice sounded frantic, even to him, over the sound of blood pulsing in his ears.

“We aren’t at liberty to discuss that with the public right now.”

“He’s—my boyfriend, he works there—” Aaron was struggling to find words, and the policeman’s face screwed up in pity.

He motioned at another officer, and said, “There’s a group of relatives, friends, over by the chief. Everything’s going to be alright, we’ll get them out of there.”

Burr followed the second officer numbly, and was almost relieved to see the familiar face of his church’s bishop. “Bishop Seabury,” He greeted, and Samuel gripped his hand tightly the moment he extended it.

Samuel looked terrified, and Burr stepped closer to him, casting a frightened gaze out across the street at the dark windows of their significant others’ workplace. “Have you heard anything?” Aaron asked, voice tight, his free hand holding his phone.

He swiped his thumb across the screen to double-check his notifications. There were no new texts. Sam nodded, squeezing Aaron’s hand. “Georgie’s okay, he says everyone’s fine, just scared—but they—he stopped texting me a little bit ago.”

Sam’s voice was watery, and he hunkered a little against Aaron’s taller form. Aaron interlaced their fingers and said, “Charles too. I think they’re fine, they’re probably just being careful. The police would know if something happened.”

“Right. Right.” Sam tried to convince himself, digging his nails a little into the back of Aaron’s hand. The pain grounded him. He texted Charles again.

[to Charlie:] How are you holding up???

               The bustle of uniformed men around him, their fellow citizens behind the barrier, a tall man with a heavy French accent speaking into a phone, was almost too much for Aaron. There were bank tellers and employees from the little bakery on the other side of the law firm. A bank robbery had taken place, and the criminals had fled next door to the law firm.

He squeezed Samuel’s hand in return. The bishop was shaking, minutely, and Aaron tried to remain strong for his sake, at least.

“George is a strong man. He’s probably gonna shout them out of there after long enough. That accent can get pretty shrill.”

Samuel barked a little laugh and smiled, his brows creased together with concern. The resulting expression was a disaster. His eyes were watery, and he sniffled a little. “Yeah, Georgie’s a force of nature.”

Aaron’s phone buzzed, and he looked down.

[from Charlie:] we’re okay. Making decisions. I love you.

               Aaron’s stomach dropped, and he gently disentangled his hand from Samuel’s. He approached the officer he’d spoken to before, and said, “My boyfriend, he’s a hostage, he conceal-carries. I think he might try and do something.”

The officer’s face paled, and he nodded, shooting out a thank you before hurrying up to the Frenchman and saying something at him. Aaron briefly recognized the man as one of Hamilton’s friends, and he bit his lip, fear churning in his belly. He wanted to vomit.

[to Charlie:] Please

[from Charlie:] I love you

[to Charlie:] you have to get Chinese food with me

[from Charlie:] Aaron listen, I love you.

               Aaron swallowed a broken sound and texted back with trembling fingers. It felt like defeat.

[to Charlie:] I love you too, Charles

               Time seemed to slow to a stop as Aaron came back to Samuel’s side. Briefly, he noted, Sam was wearing his clerical robes. The first gunshot was muffled by the walls of the law firm. He only ducked when Samuel tugged him down, and could hardly hear the sound of the police shouting through the blood rushing in his ears. People in the crowd screamed.

               The second gunshot was louder. A windowpane from the front of the law firm shattered, spraying shards of glass out across the street. Burr tucked his face into Samuel’s neck. The bishop clung to his shoulders, and they hunkered there, behind the barrier.

The next volley of fire was semi-automatic. Aaron only realized he was crying when he reached up to wipe the tears from his face. The Frenchman barked orders at the SWAT team. No one moved towards the building.

Another single gunshot went off. A round of the assault weapon followed.

Samuel gripped the lapels of Aaron’s jacket and said something to him, then bowed his head. Aaron prayed along with him. He wasn’t sure if he was speaking aloud or not. A cop rushed past them. The crowd, and barrier, was being hustled back further across the street. Samuel tugged on Aaron’s hand, and they followed the directions of the policeman ushering them along.

Another windowpane shattered. The semi-automatic’s volley cut off abruptly. An uneasy hush fell across the scene. Aaron spared a glance at Samuel. The bishop looked utterly wrecked. Aaron turned his eyes out to the law firm.

The sound of glass crunching was the only noise that cut through the scene, and then, a figure dressed in dark clothes was being shoved through the place where there was once a window. Aaron’s heart leaped, and he felt as though he might experience cardiac arrest for a moment.

He heard someone shouting to not shoot, and he stood.

Charles had a grip on the robber, one arm around his neck, his hand fisted in the man’s collar, the muzzle of his Glock pressed up under his chin. The man had one hand in the air in surrender, the other clutching at his side. Blood seeped from between his fingers. Lee had the semi-automatic’s strap around his shoulder, and when he pressed at the robber, stepping forward, he had to adjust the gun.

His face was splattered in blood, and it ran down his chin. One of his eyes was swollen, a bruise raising on his pale skin already.

A police officer rushed forward to take the man from Charles, and Lee turned to grin at Aaron. Burr made eye contact with him, a strangled noise rushing up his throat, and took a step forward.

The gunshot that rang out was unexpected, and Aaron’s knees buckled a little when Samuel grabbed his jacket and hauled him back. He sank to the ground, eyes wide with horror, fixed on Charles’ face. Lee grimaced, his triumphant smile fading, looking down and reaching up simultaneously to press a hand to his stomach. Aaron screamed.

Charles crumpled to the ground.

Aaron fought himself free of Sam’s grip, and rushed forward, past the barrier and the cop with the criminal, to kneel at Charles’ side. The world began moving at expedited speed, and Aaron pressed his hand overtop of Charles’, covering his wound.

Charles looked up at him, and a smile crossed his face. “Aaron—” He began, and cut himself off by coughing. He spluttered, and turned to spit blood out onto the pavement.

Aaron pressed harder on his wound, as if his hand could keep Charles’ blood inside him, where it belonged. The warmth of Charles’ blood on his hand made him want to throw up. He could feel Lee’s holster under his shirt. “I told you not to fucking do anything, Charles, you idiot, I said don’t do anything!”

He was yelling, and Charles just licked his lips and grinned up at him again, clearly very proud of himself despite having been shot. There was blood on his teeth and in his mouth. Aaron felt panic rising in him. He resisted the urge to grip Lee by the shoulders and shake him. “I told you not to do anything!” He shouted, bowing low over Charles and hauling him into his lap.

An EMT pressed past him, and Aaron found Charles being pulled from his grip. “You have to get Chinese takeout with me!” He yelled, voice hoarse and cracking. “You have to open the fortune cookies to get the fortune but not eat them!”

He only understood he was sobbing when he turned to the grip on his shoulder and found Hamilton pulling him into an embrace. The EMTs hurried Lee onto a stretcher and into an ambulance. Burr looked around and saw Washington and some of his other employees. His light blue work shirt was stained with Charles’ blood, and his face tracked with tears. He clutched Alexander’s shoulders.

As Hamilton moved him down the street and towards the Frenchman, and a waiting police cruiser, he could see out of the corner of his eye the other employees stepping gingerly over the broken glass under the watchful eyes of a police escort. He could see the last robber, the one who had shot his Charles, in handcuffs, being roughly handled into a cruiser. He could see Samuel rushing to meet George half-way up the steps to the firm, crying freely as he gathered the man into an embrace.

He numbly sat in the back of the cruiser, Hamilton at his side, and watched out the window as they pulled away from the scene. The day had started as any other had, and now, he was following an ambulance that was carrying his boyfriend to the emergency room after having been shot. Aaron absentmindedly scrubbed his sleeve across his face, wiping away the tears. Hamilton was speaking to him, but he didn’t hear the words. He just nodded.

The hospital waiting room was warm, and the chairs uncomfortable. He drank the coffee Hamilton brought him. He answered the police’s questions when they came to speak with him. The Frenchman, Lafayette, apologized and sincerely wished Charles a fast recovery. Aaron didn’t know if Charles was ever going to recover. Washington and some of the others—Laurens, Mulligan, and Hamilton’s wife—had come to wait with him. Frederick and Samuel and some of Lee’s coworkers joined them later, still also shaken from their ordeal. He read and re-read their texts. If he scrolled to their conversation from yesterday, he could look at the selfie Charles had took of he and Spada and sent to Aaron before he’d gotten home from work. Aaron cried on and off.

Night had fallen by the time a doctor, weary and with his facemask pulled down around his neck, entered the waiting room and called, “Mr. Burr?”

Aaron shot to his feet and made his way across the room, fear thick in his throat. “That’s me.”

The doctor untied the mask and tucked it into a pocket, looking over his clipboard before saying, “He’s stable.”

Aaron almost collapsed to the ground and sobbed from sheer relief. The doctor continued.

“He died twice. We almost called it the second time. But, it looks like he’s going to live. The bullet passed through his muscles, but missed his abdominal cavity. He’s going to have to be on a very specialized diet, and there’s going to be a list of things he can and can’t do. Nothing strenuous, of course. He’s going to be in bed for several weeks, and he may never be able to lift things properly again. He also shattered his zygomatic—his cheek bone, under one eye. It looks like someone hit him pretty hard in the face.”

Aaron nodded, soaking in the information. “Can I see him?” He asked the moment the doctor took a breath, and the man nodded.

He sent a look over his shoulder, and Hamilton motioned for him to go. Aaron took a slow breath before he entered the room. Everything was stark and clean and very orderly. Charles looked all the part of an angel. His face had been washed free of blood, but his cheek was swollen. The bruising was much more pronounced now, a coloration of deep purples and yellow shading Charles’ face.

A tube was taped into his nose, and he had an IV attached to the back of his hand. Aaron swallowed tightly and sat in the chair at his side, interlacing their fingers. Charles was out cold. He stroked his thumb over Lee’s knuckles, sniffling a little.

The doctor let them be, and Aaron settled in to wait for Charles to wake up. He was going to be pretty out of it with the amount of morphine they’d pumped into him, but Aaron couldn’t wait to see the man’s eyes, to hear his voice. He held Charles’ hand tightly, and closed his eyes.

Aaron didn’t know how much time had passed when Charles’ voice, hoarse with disuse, filled the room.

“Did you order Chinese yet? I’m hungry.”

Burr wanted to either cry or slap Charles. He chose instead to lift himself and gingerly kiss him on the lips. Charles hummed softly and smiled, then winced when he shifted. Aaron settled back into his chair, squeezing Charles’ hand possessively.

“Doctor says you’re going to have a fancy diet so you don’t ruin your stomach by working it too hard.” Aaron said gently, smoothing Charles’ bangs from his face.

Charles huffed gently, the tube in his nose fogging up. “Can you get fortune cookies?”

Aaron smiled, tears welling in his eyes. “Why, so you can read the fortune—”

“—and not eat the cookie? They’re nasty.” Charles finished, grinning. He curled their fingers tighter together.

Aaron laughed and wiped his tears away. “You’re so fucking dumb. Why didn’t you listen to me?”

Charles’ grin brightened, and he looked at Aaron with a sweet expression on his face. “I love you, Aaron. But you have to let me make my own mistakes.”

Aaron leaned in to kiss Charles’ forehead. “I love you, too, you dumbass.”

He texted Alexander to please get them some fortune cookies, and assured Charles that his neighbor had let Spada out to pee and fed him dinner earlier. Lee just held Aaron’s hand and repeated that he was okay, and that he loved him. Aaron asked if Charles wanted to move all the way in with him, for simplicity’s sake, of course, now that Charles would be recovering from a gunshot wound. Charles’ eager yes in response brought more joy to Aaron’s heart than he thought was possible.

Hamilton delivered them fortune cookies around eight at night. Lee opened one of them and passed the cookie shell to Aaron for consumption. Charles’ fortune read,

“Bravery will lead to a new door opening in your life.”

Lee grinned. Aaron made a face. They kissed, Aaron being very mindful of Charles’ injuries. He decided he never wanted to have a not-normal day again.


End file.
